Marvel's Spider-Man
I had mentally filed the latest Spider-Man game as one of those games that is probably good, but not something on my must-play list. While reviewing the half-dozen or so games that I did want to play that didn't exist on PC, however, I saw an upcoming Black Friday bundle that would be available: a 1TB PS4 Slim with Spider-Man for $200. As I don't have a 4k TV, the PS4 Pro benefits would largely be lost on my, and that price point seemed like a more reasonable buy-in than the usual 50% more for the console alone. So, I started keeping an eye out for when the sale went live. I never got a notification from Amazon. The Sunday prior to Thanksgiving, Walmart showed it online, but the local one didn't have any PS4s at all on the floor and the staff wasn't particularly helpful. Swinging by Gamestop, though, they hooked me right up (admittedly, with offers of additional controllers, or club membership, but I can't blame the staff too much for pushing upsells).
But about the game - well, it's good. Initially, it felt haaarrrd. That is probably a combination of me getting used to it in addition to the actual difficulty curve. New enemy types are introduced with a very brief description of how they might be immune to certain types of attacks, etc. There isn't a normal tutorial, though. And boss fights are distinctly different in most cases with little or no explanation (and no actual health bars) - they usually require a lot of dodging and moving around while getting in occasional ranged attacks to stun them and zip in to apply some damage before repeating.
With practice (and perhaps the health increases and such that come with leveling up), this all became easier. I still wouldn't say I had mastered moving around, if judging by the timed challenge missions. Landing with precision was still difficult, but getting around became much more fluid and traversal through swinging was actually pretty fun. I didn't unlock nearly all the suits or the gadget upgrades, but the basics can serve through the whole game. So the gameplay took some time to get accustomed to, but generally worked quite well.
I'm glad the story didn't dive into the origins of Peter Parker as Spider-Man. There are origins for a couple other characters, but Pete is solidly Spidey from the get-go. With the selection of enemies from the comics, I expected a fair number to make an appearance and I got that, though the first half or so of the game was mostly focused on one enemy I wasn't particularly familiar with. I'm a tiny bit disappointed that no other Marvel heros really showed up at all, though the map includes Avengers Tower, the Sanctum Sanctorum, and a Wakandan Embassy at least. Between that, the style of the suits, and the music, the game clearly pulled in a lot of the MCU vibe.
There is some dichotomy in how Peter is portrayed over the course of the game. On one hand, he's very realistic: seen constantly struggling with juggling work, helping May, and being a hero. He gets beaten up pretty good once or twice. Yet, he's back on his feet and fighting in such short order you'd think he was Wolverine. That bugged me a tiny bit. But the emotional resonance with his constantly trying to do the right thing outweighed it to me. MJ could, perhaps, have used a little more depth. Miles Morales is a major side character here (albeit set up such that he could take lead in a follow-up), and I quite liked his part. There are some other characters and moments that I would say reall struck the right chord as well.
Overall, it was a good experience and a solid game. I don't think I'm motivated to go collect all the things to unlock all the other things, but I may follow up with the story DLC at some point.
But about the game - well, it's good. Initially, it felt haaarrrd. That is probably a combination of me getting used to it in addition to the actual difficulty curve. New enemy types are introduced with a very brief description of how they might be immune to certain types of attacks, etc. There isn't a normal tutorial, though. And boss fights are distinctly different in most cases with little or no explanation (and no actual health bars) - they usually require a lot of dodging and moving around while getting in occasional ranged attacks to stun them and zip in to apply some damage before repeating.
With practice (and perhaps the health increases and such that come with leveling up), this all became easier. I still wouldn't say I had mastered moving around, if judging by the timed challenge missions. Landing with precision was still difficult, but getting around became much more fluid and traversal through swinging was actually pretty fun. I didn't unlock nearly all the suits or the gadget upgrades, but the basics can serve through the whole game. So the gameplay took some time to get accustomed to, but generally worked quite well.
I'm glad the story didn't dive into the origins of Peter Parker as Spider-Man. There are origins for a couple other characters, but Pete is solidly Spidey from the get-go. With the selection of enemies from the comics, I expected a fair number to make an appearance and I got that, though the first half or so of the game was mostly focused on one enemy I wasn't particularly familiar with. I'm a tiny bit disappointed that no other Marvel heros really showed up at all, though the map includes Avengers Tower, the Sanctum Sanctorum, and a Wakandan Embassy at least. Between that, the style of the suits, and the music, the game clearly pulled in a lot of the MCU vibe.
There is some dichotomy in how Peter is portrayed over the course of the game. On one hand, he's very realistic: seen constantly struggling with juggling work, helping May, and being a hero. He gets beaten up pretty good once or twice. Yet, he's back on his feet and fighting in such short order you'd think he was Wolverine. That bugged me a tiny bit. But the emotional resonance with his constantly trying to do the right thing outweighed it to me. MJ could, perhaps, have used a little more depth. Miles Morales is a major side character here (albeit set up such that he could take lead in a follow-up), and I quite liked his part. There are some other characters and moments that I would say reall struck the right chord as well.
Overall, it was a good experience and a solid game. I don't think I'm motivated to go collect all the things to unlock all the other things, but I may follow up with the story DLC at some point.
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